Local people who attended a Frack Free Somerset meeting in Midsomer Norton Town Hall on Thursday, 27th November watched a film by Marco Jackson, which examined the potential impact of fracking for shale gas and drilling for coal bed methane extraction in Somerset and beyond. It looked at the health, environmental and social consequences associated with unconventional gas drilling based on impacts experienced in Australia and the United States of America.

Those attending resolved to explore avenues for wider publicity within the area, on this huge environmental and commercial interest issue. To this end, a Steering Group is being formed to cover the area and there will be a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, 29th January, in Midsomer Norton Town Hall.

A planning application to B&NES Council is pending for Keynsham, under a recently extended local drilling licence, PEDL 22713, held by UK Methane to extract coal bed methane (CBM).

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) involves blasting large quantities of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure down a well to release gas in the shale rock thousands of feet below the surface. Coal bed methane (CBM) extraction releases water and methane via a steel-encased hole drilled directly in the seam 100–1,500 metres below and specifically exploits natural gas from unworked coal seams, often found at depths well beyond conventional mining capabilities.

Leader of B&NES Council, Councillor Paul Crossley, has already voiced deep concerns about fracking at the recent Shale Gas Environmental Summit and how it could damage Bath's natural Hot Springs sourced from the Mendip Hills, describing the Springs as 'the life blood' of the Heritage City.

Rising energy prices and constrained supplies have led the UK Government to commit to these methods of gas extraction imported from the United States, as well as moving the goalposts on planning, trespass on adjoining land via horizontal fractures, magnitude of possible tremors etc.

Contrary to other European countries, France banned fracking in 2012 and Germany has banned it for six years, other than for research. The UK Government bases its stance on fracking on shale drilling in the US, but oil price wars between the powerful low-cost producers in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are pushing the prices of shale oil per barrel in the US lower and lower.

Britain is said to have vast shale gas reserves, but the British Geological Society (BGS) estimates that just 5.3 trillion cubic feet of shale gas is recoverable, because fracking will never be acceptable in densely populated areas.

A series of these talks have taken place across the area, including Binegar, Chewton Mendip, Chilcompton, Coleford, Farrington Gurney, Kilmersdon, Temple Cloud and Radstock. The group is also concerned that an extension of drilling licence, PEDL 227, could see drilling coming to the Norton Radstock area. For more details, visit: http://www.frackfreesomerset.org">www.frackfreesomerset.org